arrested for not testifying?

[Fiending_the_freedom]

should the police be allowed to arrest you if you've been suppenad [wrong spelling] to testify and you dont show up?

ex: me and my friends have to testify becuase they caught the people who mugged us, i dont want to go but i'll be arrested if i dont. but i'm the victim, so no one gets hurt if i dont testify, the other girls will.

[redcar]

Well the thing about this is, if you weren't to testify it would be viewed by the law as wasting police time, because a conviction can't be made without you testifying, so therefore police time has been wasted and justice hasn't been carried out.

Also I presume that its a court situation because you are testifying so it could be seen as a contempt of court. And judges get really pissed at that.

I would be of the opinion that people should be made to testify in these situations because it ensures justice can be carried out, otherwise you have situation where if the person you are testifying against can threaten you, you say you don't want to proceed, they get away with it and justice isn't carried out.

[Fiending_the_freedom]

but there is more than me as a wittnesss, and i dont remeber one thing about that night, like they should hear me out because i'll still waste corut time is i go. and i didnt file a charge or anything the cops took mee to the station, its wasnt my choice to talk to them

[redcar]

But you need to say that to the court so it is on record that you don't remember. It's because it's a criminal case, not a civil one like sueing someone, they have to carry it through all the way. If you dont turn up or don't testify you will be seen as perverting the course of justice, even if all you are going to say is "I don't remember."

I agree it is a bit silly that they are going to all this hassle even though you don't remember, but the fact that they caught someone, which I suppose doesn't happen all too often with a mugging, it needs to be carried through and they have to dot their i's and cross their t's.